Zanthan GardensGarden Essays: From Winter to Spring

March 23rd, 2007From Winter to Spring

2007-03-18. Snow in Central Park.

I never thought I’d say this about Austin but it’s so GREEN here! I’ve just returned to the garden after a week in New York City. This was my first trip to New York and we arrived the day after a massive storm shut down jetBlue. The streets wer. snowy and then slushy and then just a mess. But I loved the novelty of snow. We threw snowballs at each other and I built a snow sculpture. I thought snow enhanced the romance of the city and it was nice to walk around without immediately breaking into a sweat. (I was back in the Austin’s muggy 70 degrees only 20 minutes before I smelled like I hadn’t had a bath in a week.)

2007-03-23. The bluebells are blooming in the south border. They don’t mind the shade. All the work I did lugging the Christmas tree mulch paid off. The path looks neat and woodsy, doesn’t it?

Austin had heavy rain last week and which obviously continued in our absence. The garden is transformed into intense green. The cedar elms have completely leafed out and at this time of year their green is dark and deep. Sitting at my kitchen table you’d think we lived in a tree house. The weeds in the lawn are a foot high. The tradescantia has taken over the back. The bluebonnets, baby blue eyes, and cilantro are in full bloom. The ‘Quail’ daffodils provide a bit of yellow to brighten all my blues and purples.

2007-03-23. The meadow looks like a meadow now.

I knew I was going to miss a lot of first flowers. The Tulipa clusiana is in full bloom. The bluebells finally opened. The rose ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ is full of huge flowers. She has a tendency to ball when the weather is humid and the day before I left I had to strip the outer petals of three buds that looked like they were about to open. I come home and she is blooming her head off. Other roses with their first flowers: ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’, ‘New Dawn’, and ‘Blush Noisette’. The new ‘Ducher’ has been blooming for awhile and continues to look nice.

No sign of the spring cankerworms yet. Hmmm. They usually show up when the trees are leafing out. (One hour later: Ah ha! Found one.)

5 Responses to post “From Winter to Spring”

Your meadow is beautiful, M! The paths look great, too. After recognizing the Acanthus mollis I looked it up in your plant files and had way too much fun reading the comments.

Snowballs in Central Park – sounds like a memorable trip.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

This is the week y’all should be visiting my garden, not next month. If any Austin Garden Bloggers happen to be downtown, stop by. Now back to weeding. Whew! (Yep! Acanthus mollis is invasive in cool moist climates. I love it here, though.) — mss

Your garden looks so beautiful and inviting, and now a written invitation, too. Thanks! I’d love to stop by over the weekend sometime that’s good for you.

I’ve been out picking aphids and worms off Ducher and Archduke Charles. No sign of buds yet from Mrs. Oakley Fisher (but lots of holes in leaves – grr!)

I noticed the leaves of the radishes were covered with aphids (and one ladybug) so I put the ladybug on a rose bush and pulled up the radishes. I haven’t noticed much damage yet from the spring cankerworms but I better start spraying the roses with a mild vinegar solution to wash them off. — mss

Your paths look (and smell?) great, and I’m envious of your bluebonnets. Another year, and I still don’t have any. I don’t know what I’m waiting for. Anyway, you get a pretty good crop considering all your shade.

I’ll save you some seeds. Or you can pick up some sprouts next fall. I always have zillion popping up in the paths. They do most of their growing before the trees leaf out and they are in the meadow which gets the most sun. I started the meadow after the cedar elm that shaded that section of the yard split in half during a storm. However, the meadow is getting smaller and smaller because the neighboring trees have grown and filled in the space left by the fallen one. — mss

I would love to have a Souvenir de la Malmaison, but with all the damp here in the spring I figured I’d just have her balling up all the time. I’m hoping my Kaiserin Friedrich will do well. I just transplanted him from California. (Philip brought him up from a friend’s house where he was being cared for until we could retrieve him.)

I’ve got my mind on roses now. I love the ones you have and have had them in the past. In my new garden I have about thirty roses but most of them have no scent.

I’m glad you got to enjoy some snow in New York. I love snow!

I love snow, too–probably because I don’t have to live with it. I miss the roses I lost over the last two years of drought. I choose mine primarily for scent. You might try David Austin’s ‘Heritage‘. She has an intense scent. More lemony than rosy, though. — mss